Forgotten Blessings
Greetings friends,
The other day I was thinking about my 14 miracles in 37 years, when another memory came to me, one that I had forgotten. So, I thought I’d write about it in a blog.
On June 17th, 1980, at 4:00 in the afternoon, my husband and I were taking a walk around the block where we lived in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Suddenly, I felt my labor begin. The pain was very light and in my lower back. I was 9 months pregnant but 3 weeks overdue. This was the time before labor induction was done, so I was nearly 10 months pregnant, and no, my math was not wrong!
The labor pains remained light during the evening, but after midnight and into the next morning, June 18th, they became horrific. I woke my husband so he could push a tennis ball into my lower back at 4:00 AM, with all the strength he could muster. By 6:00 AM, I knew it was time to leave for the hospital, so I woke up my spouse. I had a small bag packed that contained clothes for the trip home. My sweat suit had already been lying out for 3 weeks, so that at the appointed time, I could quickly slip into it. However, this morning I couldn't even dress myself. My labor pains were coming so fast and hard that I was nearly falling, so I moved to the hallway so I could hold myself up, while my contractions bared downward. I tried to dress myself, and it took me an hour to get dressed as the contractions were coming so quickly I could hardly walk across the bedroom to gather up my clothes.
On the way to the hospital, my husband said he was out of cigarettes and had to stop at the corner grocery store to buy some. I let out a whine, “I can't wait that long! Please don’t leave me alone, I'm scared!” But his decision was made, and he stopped at the store.
While I waited in the car, a contraction hit me like a roller coaster coming down inside my body and when it passed, I opened my eyes to find an elderly man with white hair and bib-overalls standing on the other side of my window. “Are you alright?” he asked. I nodded and said I was fine as another contraction took a deep dive through my insides. When I opened my eyes again, he was gone! As best I could move, I looked to my right and left, then, peering ahead, I looked to see if I could spot him walking between the cars in the parking lot, but no one was there. My husband returned to the car, and I asked him, “Did you see the old man who looked like my Uncle Ed?” He shook his head as he lit a cigarette.
That morning, my little girl was born, and I named her Linde.
My husband told everyone who came to visit that day that I was “amazing, as every blood vessel in my eyes, face, and neck stood on end!”
I have always felt the old man at my car window was an angel, my Uncle Edward Linde, there, checking on me. I believe it to this day, and my little Linde is now 45 years old! God had his eyes on me that many years ago as well, as He does keep us all in His loving care.
Shalom–shalom!
Kristin